Tuesday, October 12, 2010

NFL: Week 5 Pick Results

At this point, the Texans' week 1 win over the Colts has to be
regarded as a fluke. While the Giants (at least for the last two
weeks) have really come around on defense. That defense recorded
three sacks, an interception, and a 2-for-11 3rd down conversion
rate. And that makes it a lot easier for the offense to put up
enough points for a win.

Packers @ Redskins

You can take your pick of things that went wrong for the Packers
in this game: injuries, turnovers, and bad play calling all had
their part. One thing that really stands out is the Packers'
inability to score points, especially in the second half. They've
scored a combined total of 17 second-half points in their last 3
games. And you have to go back to 2004 to find a game the Packers
allowed 16 or fewer points, and still lost.

Chargers @ Raiders

The Chargers continue to struggle on the road. Two blocked punts
and 3 lost fumbles kept the Raiders in this game, and ultimately
gave them the win.

Saints @ Cardinals

Both teams made a lot of mistakes in this game. The difference
was, somehow the Cardinals' mistakes never seemed to hurt them. An
example: towards the end of the first half, Drew Brees threw a pass
from his own endzone, which was tipped and intercepted. On the
following drive, Max Hall decides to try to run it in, and
gets hit hard enough to lose the ball and his helmet. An alert
Cardinals lineman picks up the fumbled ball and carries it into the
endzone; touchdown Cardinals.

Buccaneers @ Bengals

Carson Palmer threw three disasterous interceptions. The second
one is particularly inexplicable. It came with just 2:28 left in
game, and the Bengals up by 7. On 3rd and long, instead of playing
to run the clock (and trust their defense which had given up just
one touchdown to that point), Carson Palmer threw deep. The
Buccaneers intercepted, and scored the tying touchdown on a short
field.

Split (APR: 2-2 SRS: 2-2 Line: 2-2)

Rams (APR, SRS) @ Lions (Line)

Apparently I was right in thinking the Lions were under-rated.
And the Rams are not (yet) a team likely to come back when things
start to go wrong.

Chiefs (APR, SRS) @ Colts (Line)

It's not a huge surprise that the Chiefs 3-0 start turns out to be
something of a mirage. What is surprising is that the
Colts couldn't put this game away until late in the 4th
quarter.

Eagles (APR, SRS) @ 49ers (Line)

The reason the 49ers lost this game is simple: a miserable o-line.
Alex Smith was constantly running for his life. A few times,
unsuccessfully and for disasterous results.

Titans (APR, SRS) @ Cowboys (Line)

Vince Young threw for 2 touchdowns, and Chris Johnson ran for 2
more. Meanwhile, the Cowboys o-line troubles return: Romo was
sacked six times. Add in three interceptions, and the Cowboys just
couldn't keep up.